New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity announced on Sunday, Jan. 31, the next phase of its “Vaccine for All” effort and released demographic information of vaccine recipients. With an expanded list of 33 neighborhoods identified by the taskforce as being priority neighborhoods, the City will use this data to broaden its outreach and education to address vaccine hesitancy, prioritize appointments, add new vaccine sites, and improve the scheduling website to ensure the pace of vaccination is consistent throughout the city.
“We launched our vaccine effort with a clear commitment to provide a vaccine for all New Yorkers,” said the mayor. “Now we are going even further to ensure the vaccine reaches everyone, equally, with a focus on the neighborhoods we know have borne the brunt of COVID-19.”
City officials said equitable distribution of the vaccine has been the driving force of the City’s Vaccine for All effort. The majority of City vaccination sites are already located in the 33 Taskforce neighborhoods, as well as other, soon-to-open hubs, like Citi Field and Yankee Stadium. The City has also mounted an extensive outreach campaign, holding informational and educational events for residents, providers, partners, and elected officials in Task Force neighborhoods and other areas across the city.
City officials added that with the assistance of trusted community partners, the City has distributed tens of thousands of pieces of literature to spread the word of a safe and effective vaccine to residents in priority neighborhoods and held training events so community partners can support navigation of vaccination services. The City will also continue to hold regular community conversations to address vaccine hesitancy and elevate community feedback on vaccination rollout and access.
First Lady Chirlane McCray said ensuring equity among communities is central to the city’s recovery efforts. “We want all of our communities to trust the vaccine’s efficacy and have access to it,” she said. “As distribution expands, we will continue gathering more data and processing what we have learned over the past year so that our hardest hit neighborhoods are fully supported and included in the plan.”
To deepen this work, officials said the City will now prioritize appointments for residents at vaccine sites in the taskforce neighborhoods, setting aside specific hours and slots. For eligible essential workers in the taskforce neighborhoods, the City will create ‘family plans’ – allowing the workers to schedule appointments for eligible family members on-site.
To improve accessibility, the City’s appointment scheduling site will now be available in a total of 11 languages, including English, Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, French, Haitian-Creole, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese.
Building on the initial identified list of 27 neighborhoods, the taskforce has broadened its criteria and expanded to a total of 33 neighborhoods, now including Williamsbridge and Baychester in the Bronx, among others. These neighborhoods were added based on a range of factors including high COVID-19 mortality and case rates, high prevalence of chronic illness, presence of overcrowded housing, the number of individuals experiencing poverty, and other preexisting health disparities.
To address the key drivers of vaccine hesitancy, the NYC Vaccine for All campaign will build on its previous work and launch a “Vaccine Facts” campaign (or “Vax Facts”) in February to address the key drivers of vaccine hesitancy across broadcast, digital, and print platforms, including local and ethnic media. The City will also partner with local leaders for tailored community engagement and host days of action, deploying census-style outreach campaign efforts to build trust and distribution vaccine FAQs in the 33 identified neighborhoods.
The full list of 33 Neighborhoods identified by the Taskforce is below.
Source: New York City Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity
As a result of the impending snow storm on Feb. 1, vaccinations at New York City-run sites for Feb. 1 have been postponed. People will be notified by the City on how to reschedule their appointments. In addition, all NYC Test and Trace sites will be closed on Feb. 1. This includes pop-up testing sites, mobile testing sites, self-testing sites, and T2-operated vaccination sites.
Deputy mayor for health and human services and task force co-chair, Melanie Hartzog, said that equitable vaccine distribution, especially to neighborhoods most impacted by COVID and long histories of racism, must be front and center if the City is to achieve a full and fair recovery. “Our Task Force on Racial Inclusion and Equity is making sure our efforts are focused on reaching these communities most in need, addressing hesitancy, building trust, and expanding access so all New Yorkers feel safe and informed getting their shots — which will make our whole city safer,” she said.
As previously reported by Norwood News, there is a network of State-run sites distributing the vaccine statewide. To determine eligibility and schedule appointments at New York State-run vaccination sites only, residents should use the Am I Eligible app. Residents can also call the New York State COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline at 1-833-NYS-4-VAX (1-833-697-4829). Due to the initial, limited vaccine supply provided by the federal government to New York State, it was initially envisaged that residents might have had to wait 14 or more weeks to get an appointment. That estimated timeframe may be shorter now.
As also reported previously by Norwood News, the State health department has also provided a breakdown regarding the various phases of the vaccination roll-out in terms of eligibility and which groups fall under Phase 1a and 1b.
Eligible residents can contact a number of entities offering vaccination services in the Bronx, including Montefiore, whose Vaccine Hotline is (844) 444-CV19 and which should be used to schedule an appointment. The City has also made available a vaccine finder tool in order for residents to find the vaccination site closest to them.
People with disabilities are urged to take precautions in the context of the vaccine, as previously reported by Norwood News.
Source: Montefiore Health System
In December, after State Department of Health was made aware of reports that an Orange County health provider may have fraudulently obtained COVID-19 vaccines and diverted them to members of the public, contrary to the State’s guidance in terms of who gets vaccination priority, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order that stated that a health care provider can be fined up to $1 million and lose all State licenses if they are found to have committed fraud or intentionally administered a vaccine to a person who is not eligible. “We are very serious about this, and we will not tolerate any fraud in the vaccination process,” Cuomo said. “Those who do engage in fraud will be held accountable.”
On Monday, Jan. 18, after it was reported that New York State was running low on vaccine doses, the governor announced he had asked drug company, Pfizer, which is based in New York, if the State could purchase the COVID-19 vaccine directly from the company. He said, unlike Moderna, Pfizer is not bound to commitments under Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s vaccine plan. Both the governor and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio had announced the weekend prior that vaccine supplies were due to run out the following week, even though the mayor had previously set a goal of administering one million vaccine doses by the end of January.
On Jan. 18, the governor also alleged the former Trump administration had made a false promise that vaccine doses held in physical reserve would be shipped to New York, following Cuomo’s request for more doses. He said he was initially informed they were on the way but that the federal government did not follow through, and New York was set to receive just 250,000 doses during the week commencing Jan. 18, which was 50,000 fewer than the previous week. The governor said whether it was an act of incompetence or intentional falsehood, the public deserved a full explanation.
Meanwhile, NYC Health Commissioner, Dr. Dave Chokshi, said that data is the lifeblood of the City’s response and that identifying where vaccine uptake is lower will help the City to adapt to ensure equitable vaccine distribution. “We need all New Yorkers to know that this vaccine is safe and effective, and we are working hard every day to ensure we have the supply to vaccinate as many New Yorkers as possible,” he said.
To schedule a vaccine appointment, go to: https://vax4nyc.nyc.gov/patient/s/.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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